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Barbarian
Barbarians are brutal warriors that use their sheer strength as a tool to adventure. They are mobile, powerful and skilled with weapons, and their signature ability, rage, allows them to let their martial power take over, granting them amazing prowess on the battlefield. Changes When we tackled the barbarian, we saw a fundamentally sound class in existence already; their range of abilities was close to satisfactory for us, and there were very little of what we call "dead levels" (levels gained which do not give any notable abilities). We did, however, make some changes worth noting. *'Top-Heavy' ♦ We felt that the power of a 1st level barbarian's rage was just over the line; it made the barbarian a good class to "splash" one or two levels in without fully delving into the class. We wanted to discourage "splashing" a bit by making classes less top-heavy; each class should have continual reward for further ascension in up its levels. The rage of a 1st level barbarian was thus reduced, though by the end of its career was no weaker than what once was. *'Damage Reduction' ♦ One of the coolest abilities of the barbarian is its damage reduction, a barbarian's ability to knock off damage through sheer force of will. We upped the numbers by one to give it more of an edge and make higher level barbarians a little more fierce. *'Feats of Strength' ♦ Similar to 4th edition's power system, we wanted to give barbarians one more ability to fill in some of the "dead levels" they suffered (like the ones where only their trap sense improved) that were very flavourful and helped the barbarian identify with its image, but did not shake the battlefield each and every fight. These came in the forms of feats of strength, that are once per day abilities that let the barbarian shine as a martial powerhouse. We made it so that each barbarian would have different abilities so that they weren't as predictable as well. Class Features *'Fast Movement (Ex):' A barbarian's land speed is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor, light armour, or medium armour and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the barbarian's speed because of any load carried or armour worn. *'Rage:' As a swift action, a barbarian can fly into a rage a certain number of times per day. In a rage, a barbarian temporarily gains a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Constitution, and a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, but he takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase in Constitution increases the barbarian's hit points by 1 point per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the rage when his Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) While raging, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except for Acrobatics), Concentration, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can he cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. He can use any feat he has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. A fit of rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A barbarian may prematurely end his rage as a swift action. At the end of the rage, the barbarian loses the rage modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the remaining duration of the encounter. *'Uncanny Dodge (Ex):' At 2nd level, a barbarian retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a barbarian already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead. *'Feat of Strength:' At 3rd level, as well as 7th, 14th, and 18th, a barbarian may choose a Feat of Strength from the list below. **''Door Buster:'' 1/day, a barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one Strength Check to break down a door or lift a gate. **''Stand Tall:'' 1/day, a barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one Strength Check to resist a Bull Rush, a Trip, an Overrun, or a Grapple check defensively. **''Dominate:'' 1/day, barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one Strength Check to execute a Bull Rush, a Trip, an Overrun, or a Grapple check offensively. **''Wild Athlete:'' 1/day, a barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one Athletics check. **''Heart of a Horse:'' 1/day, a barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one Endurance check. **''Venom Drinker:'' 1/day, a barbarian may add a class bonus equal to his level to one save made to resist poison. **''Berserker:'' 1/day as an immediate action, a barbarian can ignore the effects of being from -1 to -9 hit points, as the Diehard feat. This effect lasts until the barbarian dies or is healed to one hit point or higher. While in this state, he may act normally and is not unconscious, though he still bleeds every round as normal. **''Break the Stone:'' 1/day, a barbarian can reverse the effects of being petrified. He must have previously failed his saving throw to become petrified in order to use this effect. As a swift action, he may attempt another saving throw with a +4 bonus. If he fails, he remains petrified. If he succeeds, he bursts from his stone form, sending a cascade of rocks to all creatures within a twenty foot radius. These rocks deal 3d6 damage (Reflex save for half DC 10 + half the barbarian's class level + barbarian's constitution modifier). The barbarian is no longer petrified. *'Trap Sense (Ex):' Starting at 4th level, a barbarian gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise by +1 every three barbarian levels thereafter (6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th level). Trap sense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack. *'Improved Rage:' At 5th level, the bonuses from a barbarian's rage ability rises to +4 Strength and +4 Constitution, and +2 morale bonus on Will saves. *'Damage Reduction (Ex):' At 6th level, a barbarian gains Damage Reduction. Subtract 1 from the damage the barbarian takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 9th, 13th, 17th and 19th level, this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0. *'Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex):' At 11th level and higher, a barbarian can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the barbarian by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has barbarian levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character. *'Greater Rage:' At 10th level, the bonuses from a barbarian's rage ability rises to +6 Strength and +6 Constitution, and +3 morale bonus on Will saves. *'Indomitable Rage:' At 15th level, a barbarian no longer becomes fatigued after he rages. In addition, he gains a +4 class bonus to Will saves vs. Enchantment effects while raging. *'Unstoppable Rage:' At 20th level, the bonuses from a barbarian's rage ability rises to +8 Strength and +8 Constitution, and +4 morale bonus on Will saves. Category:Classes